Finally this Nigerian governor cries out, what he says is touching
– Governor Okezie Ikpeazu says his state is broke and cannot spend a huge N800 million on local government election in the state
– While speaking at a town hall meeting in the state, the governor also lamented that he has not been able to fix a major road in Abia because of paucity of fund
– He directed council stakeholders to appoint those with special need to prove that the government is interested in everyone irrespective of condition
Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia state has declared that the state is broke and that this is the reason local government election in the state has not held.
Governor Ikpeazu responds to greetings from traders
He estimated N800 million on the exercise and maintained that his state cannot afford such an amount now.
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At a town hall meeting organised for Abia south senatorial zone at Obehie, in Ukwa and at Abia Polytechnic in Aba, the governor declared: “It has been three months now that I asked ABSIEC to give me the bill for local government elections and what they gave me was almost N800 million.
“And there is no way that the expenses will not be closer to N800 million than to N500 million because if you take up ad-hoc staff and you refuse to pay them, they will knock on your door.
“If I am given N1.8 billion it will not be wise for me to take N800 million for local government elections. We must find a way out.”
Ikpeazu, who recently fired some of his aides also directed the 17 local government transition committee chairmen in the state to employ two physically challenged people each as special advisers to ensure that the interest of physically challenged persons in the state is protected.
The News reports that the governor said he has sleepless nights over the state of condition of the Port Harcourt road in Aba because the road has stalled the creativity and productivity of the local companies the area.
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He said: “When I think of Port Harcourt road, it will take a drainage system of about 13 kilometers which may involve breaking down some houses but I will not fold my hands and watch Port Harcourt road remain like that.”
He revealed that before he became governor, the World Bank and the state had entered into agreement to reconstruct the road saying he was sure the construction would commence soon.
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